Not Interested
by amiablehacker
Summary: Francine feels like she's the only person in the world who simply isn't interested in dating right now. Will anyone ever understand her?


**A/N: This is more of a vent. The quality is sorely lacking. I wrote this because I had issues with a friend who kept trying to hook me up with this guy who actually understood that I wasn't interested in dating. The friend did not get the hint for a long time, and it really irritated me. So this is basically all the boy problems I've had through the years mushed into one story (of course I added and removed some things). The biggest difference is that I'm in high school.**

**Anyway, the point is, I'll have a much better story in due time. I literally wrote this in a couple of hours without thinking. I'll have depressing one-shots up soon, I promise! If you have other ideas, then message me!**

When I got a love letter in my locker one morning, I wasn't sure what to think. At first I was angry, thinking it was some joke. Then I turned around and noticed Arthur, who was trying to appear invisible while eyeing me, and doing a poor job of it. Abruptly turning away, I stuffed the note back in my locker and walked briskly to class.

Middle school was one of those times when everyone thought they were in love at least once. But it was never love, it was a crush. After several months the feeling faded and the couple breaks up, usually leaving a broken heart. Broken hearts mend and crushes fade. Sometimes I felt like I was the only person who knew this. The hallways consisted of a sea of people making googly-eyes at each other. I could understand that it was just because middle school teens were going through that phase, but I wasn't. For some reason, when a guy was interested in me I looked the other way. Sure, there were cute guys at my school, but I simply wasn't interested in dating in middle school. It seemed too soon.

This lead to plenty of kids assuming I'm a lesbian or something. Whatever. I've never been one to care what other people thought of me.

Arthur, though, was a boy I'd known for a long time. Almost my whole life. There was even that one time everyone thought we liked each other. Interestingly, being love was the most disgusting thing that could ever happen to a person back then. Now it's the only thing that kids think about.

We were running a mile in PE that day, and it gave me time to think. I'd always loved running. It was going to be incredibly awkward talking to him about this. I was going to break his heart, and every one of his friends was going to think of me as a jerk. _My _friends would think I'm saying no because Arthur was a huge nerd. He was, but that wasn't the reason. I actually really liked nerds. I'm drawn to people who are smarter than me. And I like glasses.

PE was over and I was changing, my friend, Jenna, approached me. She'd known Arthur as long as I had. I smiled at her as I pulled my shirt over my head.

"You were quiet today," she remarked.

"I was?" I hadn't noticed.

"Yeah. What's going on?"

I bit my lip. "Um…will you promise not to tell?"

Jenna smiled eagerly. Girls were always willing to hear secrets. "Promise. What is it?"

"Uh…someone gave me a love letter."

She gasped excitedly. "Ooooh! Who is it?"

"It's Arthur."

"Oh that totally makes sense. He's always had _such _a crush on you! Weird, I thought you liked him too."

I stood up. "Well no…not really."

"What's the problem? I mean, I know you like Arthur as a friend. You should give him a chance."

I rolled my eyes. They never understood. "I'm not interested in dating right now. Dating is, like, serious. I mean, if we dated, we'd probably break up within a couple months. One of us would end up sad. I don't think I'm ready for that yet."

Jenna put her hands on her hips. "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard! If a guy likes you and you like him back, then you go for it! Come _on_ Francine. Open your eyes! You're going to be, like, so miserable if you never give dating a chance."

"I didn't say that I'd _never _date. Just not right now." This was so hard to put into words. My standards make sense to me, but no one else. "I'm not miserable! It's not like you need a boyfriend to survive."

"Whatever. Only people who can't get dates say that sort of crap. If there's someone out there, you're supposed to go for it!"

The bell rang, ending our conversation. "Jenna, I thought you were my friend. I thought you'd understand."

She rolled her eyes and grabbed her bag. "Chuck and me have been going out for three months. It's going so super amazingly well! I don't want to see you all sad like this when someone likes you."

I slammed my locker. "I'm _not_ sad! Seriously! Do I constantly go around complaining that I don't have a boyfriend or something? Geez, forget it! I never should have talked to you." I snatched my bag and fumed out of the room, ready to explode. My short temper had gotten better since elementary school, but today I had a relapse. Something about Jenna thinking I needed a boyfriend really set me off.

Running was one thing that always cleared my head, and it made me feel better. During lunch I ran laps. I'd been doing it less and less since I've been able to control my temper.

Arthur found me. He's always had a talent of doing that.

We made eye contact and I was forced to stop. "Hey," I panted.

"Hey." He looked so sad it almost killed me.

"So…um…I got your letter…."

"If you're not interested, I understand." He understood, but it didn't make it any less painful.

"Arthur, I'm really flattered you'd right that for me. I don't want you to think that I think you're weird or anything. It's just that I'm not interested in dating right now. Really. It has nothing to do with you."

Something in his eyes changed. "Really? It's not me?"

"Of course not! We've been friends for years. I just think that school takes up a lot of my time, and then I have sports after school and stuff. I don't really have time for a relationship right now. If I had a boyfriend, I'd have to give something up. I don't think I'll be ready for that until I'm older. But I'm still friends with you."

He exhaled. "You know, that actually makes a lot of sense. I mean, a lot of kids think that relationships are easy, but they do take up time. I totally get it."

I was relieved. "Good! I tried explaining this to Jenna and she made it sound like I'd be miserable without a boyfriend."

"Oh…that would explain why she was acting so weird."

My heart stopped. "What? What's she doing?"

"She was saying I should try and talk you into dating me or something. I was going to talk to you anyway, and I don't think it's fair to make someone want to date you. I just thought you were interested in someone else, which I would understand too. But if you're not going to date at all, I won't have to worry about you dating someone who's a jerk and being stuck in the friendzone or whatever."

I laughed a little. "Nah. Every guy I know is in the friendzone until I'm ready for dating. I'm sure you'll find a girl for you."

"No…I've got nothing to offer a girl. I'm just a bookworm."

"Come on! You're, like, the nicest guy I know. A lot of girls are looking for those confident rebels who are unstable jerks, but the girlfriend you'll have is going to want the nice guys. Trust me, there's girls out there who like nice guys. I'm one of them."

He smiled. "Thanks, Francine."

He walked away and I kept running. Both of us were grinning ear to ear.


End file.
